


Work From Home

by LitsyKalyptica



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Angst, Babies, College, Cuddling & Snuggling, Custody Battle, Divorce, Dogs, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, Family Fluff, Fights, Fluff, Hair Washing, I Love You, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Joined Family, Kittens, M/M, Massage, Memories, Mothman?, Moving Out, Nightmares, Post-Divorce, Sexual Frustration, Sexual Tension, Sleepy Cuddles, Stress Relief, Tickling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-02-23 19:51:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 12,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13197360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LitsyKalyptica/pseuds/LitsyKalyptica
Summary: Domestic life with the Dads.Updated: 1/22, chapter 17





	1. Baby Steps - Hugo x Dadsona

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collection of drabbles/short pieces based on domestic prompts. Characters and pairings will be added as I write more. I currently have another in the works already!

Hugo may not have liked it much, but Pops said John was just young enough that I didn’t have to forsake my weekly LHPIRGT binge. Once he got into toddlerhood, I’d have to switch over to something more colorful and child-friendly, although “the presence of ghosts can be negotiated.” I really wouldn’t mind; I loved my baby brother, and I loved getting to see him more now that I was back home. But summer meant all five of us, plus Duchess, were keeping things pretty hectic around here.

Anyway, I could barely see the TV over Pops’s head. John was nine months old now, and it was time for the ultimate test of fatherhood: which of his dads would John walk to first.

I was a neutral party in all of this, so I was the one who got to stand him up, helping the tiny child prop his hands up on the coffee table, eyes darting curiously around the room. He had never seen this angle from the floor, so everything was new for him.

“Come to Daddy, John!”

Both Pops and Hugo were kneeling on the floor, patting their laps, each coaxing the infant in their direction. I had to admit, it was almost as entertaining a sight as the ghost motorcycle gang surrounding Callum and Flynt’s truck, driving them toward the cliff. My attention was divided, to say the least.

John didn’t seem interested in picking a side. I swear I caught him watching the TV just when it came to the best part. The truck went flying off the cliff.

“I really don’t think he should be watching this--”

Hugo’s distraction by the mindless and clearly staged destruction gave Pops and advantage, and John took a clumsy step in his direction.

“He hasn’t broken away from the table yet,” I noted, cutting off my dad’s premature celebration. “It doesn’t count unless he lets go of the table.”

He pouted up at me and redoubled his efforts, but so did his husband. They had my full attention now. I’d rewatch this episode properly later, when I had didn’t have so many distractions, just the proper amount of distraction.

The door opened. Duchess went lumbering toward the kitchen, barely waiting to be released from her leash.

“What’s going on?”

John stared up at Ernest in the doorway. The baby smiled and reached one grabby hand out to him. Ernest smiled a little back, and sat on the edge of the TV table, nearly blocking out the program I wasn’t really watching anymore.

John let go of the table.

He turned.

He took a klutzy little step toward his big brother. And then another.

Hugo and Pops stared in disbelief.

No one could hear John’s happy little babbles over my laughter.


	2. 5:00 AM - Craig x Robert

“You’re not actually going out there, are you?”

Craig was already putting a pair of sweatpants on when Robert’s voice growled out from under the covers. He laughed softly, as if the answer was obviously and unquestionable. “Yeah? Five AM, dude.” Robert was somewhat more receptive to “dude” than to “bro,” and Craig had adjusted over the last few months. “Gotta get a run in before the girls have to be up. You’ll hold down the place while I’m out, right?”

Robert groaned and, gathering all the strength he could muster this early in the morning, pushed himself up and out of bed. Craig watched him as he made his way over to the window, opening the blinds. It was dark, but rain could be seen and heard pattering against the glass. “It’s rainiing and fucking cold out.” Before Craig could warn him against that kind of language, as he couldn’t be sure the kids weren’t awake at any time of day, Robert continued. “You’re gonna die out there.”

Craig laughed a little, though somewhat uneasy. “Robert, that’s ridicul--”

“You don’t let your kids play out in the rain, do you?”

“Well, no. They’d get sick.”

Robert cocked an eyebrow at him, and Craig averted his gaze, getting his sneakers on with some more determination than before. “I’ll be fine,” he mumbled, though he knew he couldn’t back up such a claim. “I already hit snooze once,” he added, as if that small allowance would have some sway on the larger situation.

Robert dropped back into the bed, and Craig felt the conversation was over there, that he could go for his jog and come back and keep his normal routine. But a pair of arms wrapped around his waist instead, and held him there.

“Dude, what--”

“If you won’t let yourself stay in from the cold and wet weather, then I’ll keep you here myself.” 

His hold tightened. Craig thought to nudge him off, to insist that this was something he needed to get done to get on with his day. His hands twitched, ready to push him off. He felt himself tense up but wasn’t truly aware of what was happening in him, or why.

Robert’s bristly cheek was pushed against his back. 

“Robert, could you let go? I have to get going…”

A moment later, his hold loosened a bit. _He might’ve fallen back asleep_ , Craig thought, though he couldn’t be sure at this angle.

Craig looked to the window, the door, the bed, his untied sneaker. He felt himself pulled in each direction, neither side letting up. He’d either give in to one, or be torn in two.

The bed was warm. Robert was even warmer.

Better than the cold outside.

Craig’s alarm went off again. 5:10. He could, vaguely, remember a time when he couldn’t drag himself out of bed before noon. Through all his old, unhealthy, hedonistic habits he’d indulged in twenty-plus years ago, he was still here.

Fingers shaking and slightly numb, he reset the alarm. 6AM might be a healthy compromise. Robert smiled against his back.


	3. Cozy - Mat x Craig

In such a tiny side of town, the rain should’ve brought in fewer customers than usual. But summer had brought in tourists, and rain drove the pedestrians into the local coffee house. And Mat was grateful for the good business, but he was thoroughly exhausted before the day was even better. He sighed heavily, dropping his elbows onto the counter but managing to stay otherwise upright. An hour before closing, things had calmed down. He just needed to get through this last hour.

“Why did I want a job like this?” He didn’t know if he could handle any more small talk with strangers.

Fortunately, the next person into the shop wasn’t a stranger.

“Hey, bro!” Craig came in soaked from the rain, pushing the damp stroller in front of him.

Mat smiled and stepped out from behind the counter, swaying slightly and having a little difficulty crouching down in front of the stroller. He pushed up the plastic rain cover. River smiled and made grabby hands at him when she saw her daddy’s boyfriend. Mat cooed at her and lifted her up out of the stroller while Craig dried off a little with some napkins. He perched the toddler on his hip. “I have towels in the back, you know.”

“Oh, I’m fine… You alright, bro? You look exhausted.”

Mat couldn’t help but yawn before he answered. “Long day. Lots of customers.”

“You’re falling asleep on your feet.” Mat handed River over to him, worried he might drop her in his tired distraction. “Had enough for today?”

Mat looked down a bit sheepishly. “Yeah, I think so.”

Craig turned the sign in the window. Mat could afford to close up early today. “Come on. Don’t worry about cleaning up. You deserve a nap.”

Mat smiled softly at how nice that sounded. Craig grinned at him and steered Mat toward the old sofa in the lounge. He pulled the throw blanket back. “Here, lie down.”

Mat did as he was told, plopping down onto the sofa with a sigh of relief.

Craig went and got the stroller and put a bundled up River back in for her own nap. He kissed her head as she immediately fell asleep. After maneuvering the stroller over next to the sofa and locking the wheels, he squeezed in next to Mat as best he could, clinging to him like a baby koala. “I’ll keep an eye out, bro. You get some sleep.”

Mat smiled into his shoulder, eye fluttering shut. He felt a little kiss to his cheek just as he drifted off.


	4. Wings - Robert x Craig

Coming into the dark room, Craig found Robert kneeling in front of the window with a pair of binoculars. Not thinking too much of it, he started to get ready for bed.

“Where are you fuckers…”

“Robert, language,” Craig warned through a yawn. He’d just made sure the twins were asleep -they were old enough now to get themselves to bed with minimal supervision- and had only barely gotten River down in her crib. She was getting a little big for it. He’d need to go get a little bed for her this weekend, and try to power through the nights worrying she’d fall out without the bars. It’d taken long enough to move her off of co-sleeping as it was already.

Robert stared out into the night, the binoculars not doing too much in the pitch blackness of the night. There weren’t too many trees out in the back of the house, at least not until the very back, but the moon was hidden away tonight and cast the whole backyard in shadow. Robert took a swig from a bottle of root beer and cursed again under his breath.

Craig knew he’d be up much later than he’d like if he started a conversation about what exactly Robert was on the lookout for, but at least part of him was interested in his partner’s endeavors. “What do you think is out there?”

“Not Mothman, that’s for damn sure.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question…”

Robert didn’t answer.

“... It’s Mothman, isn’t it?”

“I swear to fuck he’s not real.”

“But you just need to make sure?”

“I heard something out there. I thought it was the Dover Ghost, but I heard wings flapping. And that doesn’t sound like him.”

Craig turned over onto his side, picking at a stray string in the blanket. “You have to get up early tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

“Dentist appointment.”

“What dentist appointment? I don’t make dentist appointments.”

“No, but I did. For you. If you keep letting that tooth pain go--”

Robert tried to retort, but the reminder of the severe toothache seemed to empower it and he found he couldn’t say anything, physically. He just grumbled, one hand on his jaw as he resumed his watch.

“Promise me you’ll go?”

“‘M a little busy.”

Craig got up out of bed and joined him at the window.

“Shit, there it is!” He yanked the binoculars away from his eyes and shoved it in Craig’s face, probably bruising his nose a little. Craig looked out to see what it could be.

“Robert, that’s a hawk.”

Robert pulled the binoculars back and, sure enough, saw the dim silhouette of a hawk perched in one of the far off trees.

“Come to bed?”

Robert groaned and stood up, plopping down into the bed fully dressed, dead set on sleeping that way. Craig helped get his boots off before joining him.


	5. "Spring" Cleaning - Mat x Craig

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed this chapter!

A new year meant the start of spring cleaning. That started with an overhaul of all the laundry that needed to be done. The twins and Carmensita were both cramming in all the hoemwork they had put off over winter break, and Mat was in the living room keeping River occupied. But Craig didn’t mind doing the work himself, really. He was pretty used to it by now.

One basket was filled now with freshly dried and folded sheets. He brought them upstairs to start distributing them to the bedrooms, but couldn’t help but relish in the warmth and clean smell.

He’d just brought the clean sheets to the twins’ room, sticking around for a minute to check in on how the girls were doing with their homework, asking if they needed any help. Briar and Hazel were both lying on their beds in what couldn’t have been very comfortable positions, and Carmensita was sitting at the desk surrounded by notebooks and packets. When asked what they were working on, they only offered a series of grumbles in response. Craig smiled just a little and dropped his daughters’ sheets on each of their backs. Briar set hers to the side without taking her eyes off the book she was reading, and Hazel quickly cacooned herself in hers. “Well, let men know if you need anything.” He returned to laundry duty.

Just as he was about to lay his own sheet out on his own bed, he heard a tiny mew from inside it. Craig unfolded it to see a gray tabby kitten curled up in its warmth.

“Pepper, what’re you doing in there?” He scooped her up and the kitten immediately fell back asleep against his chest. He decided to leave the sheet there and went out to the living room.

Mat was sitting on the floor with River, playing with Duplo blocks and watching Peppa Pig. Mat seemed to be a little more invested in the show than River was.

“Mat? I found your Christmas present.” Mat had gotten Pepper as a gift for his daughter, and they spent so much time over here it was no wonder the kitten had shown up snuggled in their laundry.

Mat looked up and cooed at the kitten as he stood to retrieve her. “I was looking all over for her. Where was she?”

“Inside one of the sheets.”

A look of horror crossed Mat’s face. “She didn’t get put in the dryer, did she?”

Craig laughed and shook his head. “No, I think she snuck in while I was checking on the girls.” He bent down and scooped River up to some protest, but most of her fussing was probably because she was hungry. “What do we want for lunch?”

Mat pulled out his phone, Pepper curled up on his shoulder, and started looking up what foods were safe for kittens to eat as table scraps. Nothing of interest came up, so he’d settle on giving her some canned cat food with the fancy text on the label. “The girls have been working really hard all morning.” He lowered his voice a little so no wandering ear could hear him. “Think we could maybe treat them to takeout or something?”

Craig thought about it for a moment, bouncing his toddler on his hip. “We’ll see if they finish it all up by dinnertime. If they do then, yeah, we can treat them a little.”

Mat smiled and saluted the idea, and kissed his cheek. It was taking some time to integrate the families, but they would figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't be the only one who gets more invested in the preschool shows than the kids they're aimed at, right?


	6. Wait for You - Robert x Craig

It had been a worse fight than usual, and a lot of it came down to stubbornness on both parts, but there was something else more serious, more painful. 

Craig had always tried to keep a policy of never going to bed angry. Either resolve the conflict, or let it go. That’s what he’d always taught his daughters, and it really was necessary with twins: the more time two people spend together, the more likely conflict is to arise, no matter how much you love the other person. Maybe Craig had been spending too much time with Robert lately, or maybe Robert just wasn’t as good for him as he’d thought.

Robert had come to his house drunk the night before. Thrown up on his front porch and everything. The kids already long asleep, Craig had gone against his better judgment and let his partner stay the night. But he’d made the mistake of going to bed angry, and so that had only stewed in his sleep and came out again in the morning. He held it together until the girls were off to school, but as soon as they were off on the bus, he’d stormed back to the bedroom where Robert was still passed out. “I told you not to come over here like that.”

Robert only barely woke up to hear what came next.

“I don’t want my daughters seeing that. I don’t want that kind of influence in this house.”

“What were you gonna do?” Robert wasn’t drunk anymore, but his speech was slurred with sleep. “Kick me to the curb?”

“You have your own house.”

“And you woulda left me over there alone?”

“I didn’t make you go get drunk last night.”

“I had to let loose a little. You keep this house stifling. There’s no room to breathe around you. Look at you now. You just want to control everything.”

“For my kids!”

“So? If I’m that bad an influence why don’t you just leave me?”

Craig almost said that he might, but he didn’t want to say anything he might regret later. “Because I love you. You know that by now.” He did love Robert. He was starting to question why, exactly, but the feeling was very real and quickly coming to hurt him. And then something clicked.

“Robert? Why have you never said you love me?”

Robert scoffed, a sound that struck Craig right in the stomach. “You want me to say it now? After you woke me up yelling about what a bad person I am?”

Craig crossed his arms tight across his chest, averting his eyes. “What am I to you, Robert?”

He didn’t get an answer. Robert got his shoes back on and headed out for the day. 

Craig distracted himself with work and chores until the girls got home, but though his kindergartener wouldn’t catch a difference in him, at least not one she could articulate, at thirteen the twins were a little more able to voice their concern. “Dad? You don’t look too good. And you’re gonna break that spoon if you stir any harder.”

He’d almost forgotten he was in the middle of making dinner. He didn’t really remember much of the day past the fight that morning. He put on a smile for Briar, who was staring at him from the counter. “Oh, I’m fine. Just got a little antsy with the rain and everything…’

“It’s not raining, Dad.” She reached up to touch his forehead. “Are you sick or something?”

“No, I--”

He could hear the front door open, and Hazel call from the living room. “Robert’s here!”

Craig didn’t want to talk to him, but Robert didn’t seem like much for talking. Through a haze of lingering resentment Craig could recognize that Robert was a little cleaned up from this morning, and looking a little more demure than usual. He didn’t say a word through dinner until a quiet, “Good food.”

Craig stared down at his own plate. He’d only picked at anything. “Thanks.”

The rest of the evening was spent on homework, and by the time that was done it was getting near bedtime. Craig helped River with her evening routine and trusted the twins would get through theirs on their own just like he was starting to trust them to get to sleep at a decent hour. They were teenagers now, and he had to start giving them a little liberty and room to take responsibility for themselves. It had taken a long, long time for him to figure that out for himself. He didn’t want his kids to make the same reckless decisions he had.

Robert stayed in the living room through all this, not making a peep, watching whatever the TV had to offer that night. Craig passed by him a few times, but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t ready to. But Robert seemed like he was waiting for… something. For him, maybe? No, Robert wasn’t one to wait.

Craig stayed as River read a bedtime story for herself, out loud, and then tucked her in with a kiss. He turned the nightlight on and shut the door behind him, went to check on the twins to find they were still up but ready for bed, at least, and by nine went to get ready for bed himself. Robert was still… waiting.

He didn’t want to go to bed mad again. Hurt, maybe, but that he couldn’t help. “You can stay the night, if you want.”

Robert nodded a little, but didn’t say anything, didn’t even look at him. Craig got ready for bed and tucked himself in for the night.

He’d been lying there in the dark for some time when he heard the door open and shut, and suddenly someone was in the bed with him. Robert wrapped his arms around Craig’s waist, scruffy but evenly trimmed face pressed into the back of his neck. Craig couldn’t help but move a little closer.

“I love you.” He felt the words vibrate down his spine.

Craig smiled softly. “I love you too…” And that was all he needed to sleep peacefully that night.


	7. Killers Cats 3D - Damien x Hugo

Damien didn’t want to see another horror movie. He could probably go without anything scarier than Halloweentown for the rest of his natural life. But this new film, _Killer Cats 3D: This Time it’s Purrsonal_ , was the only one Lucien and Ernest would agree to see together in the theater. And lately it had been growing more and more difficult for Damien to find time to spend with Hugo, and it was definitely affecting their relationship.

He took a deep breath. Once he got past the part where he might just run from the theater before the film was over, he remembered stories from his childhood friends about how girls would get their crushes’ affections by going to a scary movie. And that was something Damien could possibly take advantage of.

It wasn’t twenty minutes into what had been called by some the _Jaws_ of the 21st century was more horrific in its convoluted plot and terrible effects work than anything to do with the content of the films, but those poorly constructed animatronics were enough to get Damien squirming. He glanced over at the boys during a particularly gruesome scene. Lucien looked totally unimpressed with the movie, checking the time on his phone to see when it would be over. Ernest was scowling at whatever was happening on screen, but looked a little more scared than he was letting anyone see.

Damien looked back at the screen at just the wrong moment, and yelped, grabbing onto the arm rest next to him. Well, it was less of an arm rest and more of an arm.

Hugo leaned in a little. “Are you alright?”

Damien nodded stiffly. He didn’t want to let on that this was a terrible idea from its conception. Hugo didn’t know he was terrified of horror movies: it was still one of his embarrassing little secrets.

Suddenly his hand was being gripped tightly. Damien looked over to find his partner looking well away from the screen.

“Are you alright?” he echoed back.

Hugo nodded and adjusted his glasses, but didn’t look the least bit convincing. “Honestly, I only came here because we could all do it together. I really hate horror movies. I’ll be having nightmares tonight.”

Damien stared at him a moment, and swallowed. Then, almost before he could think about it, he leaned in and kissed Hugo’s cheek. “I love you.” There was no explanation needed. They were both here, together, in the same awful boat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first time writing them together, lemme know what you think! :)


	8. Greetings from Your Old Life - Dadsona x Craig

Dean only seemed to come across these kind of things when he was packing up to move again. First with the photo albums when moving to the cul-de-sac with Amanda, and now this.

It was the second time Dean was moving in six years. The circumstances for this move weren’t as painful as the last. Moving from his old house was plagued with old memories of both his daughter’s childhood and his deceased husband, and leaving all of that behind felt something like the end of his old life. And when he first got here, Dean really wasn’t sure what he was going to do leaving behind the last twenty years of his life.

But unlike the last move, which had felt like an ending, this one felt like a new beginning.

Dean glanced down at the ring on his finger, and smiled. He was almost done packing the last of his things. Amanda had packed up all her own stuff when she came up for the holidays, most of which was now going to storage. She had gone back to Chicago for her last semester of art school. He missed her. “Just a few more months,” he reminded himself, taking a moment to move past the occasional onslaught of empty-nest syndrome. The house would be empty soon, but he’d be building his new nest with his fiance and three soon-to-be stepdaughters. And then Amanda might come home, or she might be somewhere else, but she was his little bird who was ready to fly on her own. That wasn’t to say Dean wouldn’t tear up to find himself without his little girl (she would always be his little girl), but she was ready to make a new life for herself, wherever she may go, and he would be doing the same.

The doorbell rang, because of course it would at a time like this. Craig knew well and good that he didn’t have to knock or ring the doorbell nearlly six years into their relationship, but he always did anyone, at least since he walked in on Dean sitting ass naked in the living room eating peanut butter directly out of the jar and watching trashy realtity shows. They never spoke of that again, but Craig always announced his arrival before he could walk in on another embarrassing scene. How noble of him.

“Hey, bro!” He had to squeeze between two walls of boxes to get inside, but the bright grin on his face remained. His enthusiasm about the move was definitely helping ease Dean’s mind about the whole thing. Any doubts he may have had disappeared when Craig started asking about whether they’d want to repaint the bedroom once it was both their bedroom. “Everything almost ready?”

“Yeah, I just have to get some more boxes from the basement.” Dean was taping one of the last boxes shut, but it was only now that he realized he probably didn’t need to go through with all the boxes and packing tape when he was just moving two houses down.

“Need me to help you bring them up?”

“No, no, I’ve got ‘em.” Dean looked at him for a moment. “How late were you up last night?”

“River had a project due this morning, so I was up until… one, I think? I don’t really remember when I finally crashed. I’m fine, though.”

Dean raised an eyebrow and motioned for Craig to sit down on the plastic-covered sofa. “TV’s still hooked up. I couldn’t help leaving it to the very last thing. You can watch whatever you want while I go get those.”

“Sure thing, bro.” He plopped down, sitting a little stiffly for a moment before finally relaxing into the well-word cushions. That sofa was going into storage, along with a lot of Dean’s things. He wouldn’t be needing it in his new house.

Dean headed downstairs. There were a few stray boxes left from the first move, still uponed. Some of them had been sealed shut for maybe a decade now. Had he really just never bothered to see what was inside? The tape was old, and pealing at the edges of one such box. Wouldn’t be difficult to just rip it open.

Dean brought them upstairs and found some room left for them. That one with the pealing tape kept drawing his eye. Wouldn’t hurt, right? He could just seal it back up with some newer and more reliable tape.

Dean ripped it open, and what was inside shocked him.

“Bro! Come here!”

Craig came hurrying in, stepping around boxes and other wrapped items. “What’s wrong?”

Dean had a shocked smile on his face. “This… This is one of the boxes I packed up from our old dorm. Haven’t seen any of this stuff since!”

“What’s in it?” Craig was nearly bouncing with excitement.

Dean started to look through the box. He couldn’t have imagined any of this stuff, some of it objectively junk, would bring back such vivid memories. A smashed beer can in a plastic baggie, the first one he’d ever had. He imagined it would smell like a fermented corpse if he opened the bag, but it was special to him so long ago. 

One of his notebooks and a folder of handouts from a semester’s worth of classes. “What’s in there?” Craig asked, and Dean skimmed though its contents. He came across what looked like an outline on the judicial process, and determined it was probably from his law class he took as part of his sociology major.

“I was shit in that class.”

Craig laughed and pulled out a small journal. “It’s locked, dude. You still have the key?”

Dean snatched it, blushing. “Probably. Not for you.”  No one needed to know what was written in there. He softened up a bit when Craig kissed his cheek, but only grew redder.

There were some more less nostalgic leftovers from his college life piled on top of more interesting items. The key to his journal was nowhere to be found, probably better left to be buried by the sands of time. Dean dug through them to find the treasures that lay beneath.

Dean didn’t keep photo albums back then. He didn’t know what happened to any of the pictures he took in college, how many memories were doomed to hazy half-remembering because he hadn’t preserved the moments anywhere but in his mind and heart. There were three photos left in the box, and he wondered briefly if they were all that remained.

A trifold of graduation pictures and the celebratory dinner that followed. In the center, Dean himself in cap and gown. It had be so uncomfortable, the collar of the gown too tight, his mother directing him and his father standing off to the side, watching on sternly. His mother going on about how she was so proud, about how she hadn’t expected him to graduate. His degree defied both their expectations.

On the right, he and Alex at diinner the night of Dean’s graduation. They’d been together for two years by then. Alex was two years older than Dean, had gotten a good job right out of college, and by the time Dean was moving on from his own college days, they had a house lined up, ready to move in. Dean would spend the next twenty years in that house. Alex would spend twelve. 

On the left, Dean and Craig, enjoying their last night before they’d go their separate ways. Lighthearted and excited, both of them hoping it wouldn’t be goodbye forever, but with the underlying dread that it would be. And it almost was They would see each other again -once, when Amanda was a baby, but then not again for seventeen years. And Dean had really started to believe for a long time that it was forever.

When had he started tearing up?

Craig laughed softly. “I’m glad you have this. I don’t have any pictures of the two of us. Only our wild stories.”

Dean nodded, trying to laugh, too, but he was a bad liar even when he didn’t say anything.

“Hey, Dean? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered, voice strained, and he only received a tight hug for his lie. A horrible example for the children, a reward for dishonesty. But sometimes you just needed to cry into your bro’s shoulder, right?

“Hey. Hey. What’s wrong? What’s got you upset?”

Dean sniffled, and responded slowly. “Just… it’s pure fucking luck we found each other again, right? Everything had to work out in just such a way or we might never have seen each other again.”

Craig glanced down into the box. “Hey. There’s one more thing in here.”

Dean sniffed and pulled back a little. At the very bottom of the box was a small envelope. It was still sealed. He picked it up and, inside, found a rather crass graduation card. He opened it to find it was from Craig.

_ ‘Bro! Congrats! We made it! -Craig’ _

Taped below that message was a folded up and slightly torn piece of loose leaf paper.

_ ‘So you know I’m not very good with words, so Smashley’s helping me write this to you. I’m writing this the last night in our room (everything looks so weird tidied up like this), but you’re asleep, so this is the perfect time to get just a little sappy. I just wanted you to know you’re the best friend I’ve ever had. College was really tough but you made it a lot easier than it could’ve been. I could always count on you to cheer me up when I was feeling down or to get my ass home when I was too drunk to stand. (And, well, that kind of helped you meet Alex, so don’t be too annoyed about all those times you had to drag me home in a drunken stupor.) I was really worried being so far from home but you made our crappy little dorm room home. I hope I was able to be half as good a friend to you as you are to me. I’m really happy for you and Alex and I think you guys will have a fantastic life togetehr (congrats on the house!). You worked so hard these last few years and you deserve all the success in the world for it. I’ll always be rooting for you. This feels kind of like an ending, and after tomorrow night who knows when we’ll see each other again, but I know we will, even if it’s hard and life gets in the way, because you’re my very best friend and I don’t want to imagine a life without you. Your friend, Craig.’ _

Okay, Dean was definitely crying now, and in a way that would need more than a hug and some gentle hushing to calm him down. He read the letter over and over again, its writer and Dean’s future husband holding onto him the whole time.


	9. Nightmare - Robert x Mat

This had become a regular occurence. Most nights were interrupted with one or the other shooting up from unrestful sleep, panting, shaking all over, possibly crying. The crying usually depended on where the nightmare ended.

The cruelty of it all was kind enough that it, usually, didn’t happen to both in the same night.

Tonight seemed to be Robert’s turn. His tended to be less vivid; he wasn’t there when Marilyn died, only having memories of what preceded, and the phone call. He didn’t remember quite a bit of the aftermath, but sometimes his subconscious filled in the blanks for him.

Robert sat up in bed, his mind waking up more slowly than his body, adjusting to the waking world. It was too dark to be awake now that he’d (mostly) gotten his shit together, so to speak. But it was better than the alternative, better than reliving what came next.

“Robert?”

He glanced down to find Mat staring up at him through the darkness of the bedroom, eyes glowing with concern. They’d done this before, but it didn’t get easier.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he lied. “I’m gonna get some fresh air.”

Before Mat could say anything, or really register what he could say, Robert was up and out of the room. He was careful not to wake Carmen up on his way past her bedroom, and briefly thought of Val, at her age. Her barely remembered any of that. His disengagement with home life left room for a wedge to be pushed between him and Marilyn. Their daughter looked just like her mother, except the poor thing got her father’s nose. She wore it better.

Val had always been a good daughter. She’d owed it to her mother but it was definitely better than he deserved. Mother had been going to stay with daughter that horrific night, taking refuge from a particularly volatile argument with her drunkard husband. Texts between the two later echoed Val’s insistence on divorce, matched against a Catholic woman’s allegiance to a man that had never been good enough. She’d loved him, foolishly, to the end of her life. 

That night. A woman who’d made a career of saving thankless lives, her life cut short by a stray bullet and an ambulance that was too slow in arriving.

Robert didn’t notice when he was standing out on the back porch in his boxer shorts, nor that Mat had followed behind him until the silence was broken.

“You miss her.”

Robert didn’t flinch. He just turned and looked his partner directly in the eye. “You’re one to talk.” There was no spite in it. Only exhaustion.

Mat nodded and joined him at the wooden railing. He ran the risk of splinters to run hand calloused fingertips over the wood. “This house was move-in ready. It was great, since Rosa and I had been on tour so long, and we didn’t have much in way of furniture. Her brothers helped her build this deck. She had bigger plans for this house, wanted to make it our own. She was a big dreamer.” He paused a long moment, wondering whether Robert would break the silence before giving up on that idea. “I think about Rosa a lot. And even though it’s painful, I find myself wanting to talk about her more and more, especially with people I trust. People like you. But… I noticed you don’t talk about Marilyn. At all.”

That was the elephant in the room. Despite recurring nightmares on a common trauma, neither of them had really been open about the details, and the effect the details had on them. And Robert had thought that was better for a while. But suffering in silence didn’t seem to be helping. Seemed to maybe be making it worse.

But he didn’t want to talk about it.

But he did.

“She wouldn’t have died if it wasn’t for me.” That was all he could bring himself to say, but it was so much more, so much reflective of the deeper pain than he thought would ever come out of his mouth.

Mat couldn’t counter his point. He didn’t have the full story, and didn’t know whether he would rebut that even if he did. “We wonder whether there was something we could’ve done to stop it.”

Robert nodded. He wanted a cigarette. He felt too vulnerable for comfort, but something about Mat was… safe. Even with the darkest moments of Robert’s life, Mat was his rock in the storm. “I’m a shit partner.”

“You’re not--”

“I rely on you the same way I did on her. And she sacrificed it all because, for whatever reason, she--” No matter how much he loved her, something about saying that Marilyn loved him back felt wrong. “She stood by me even when I didn’t deserve it. And I never once deserved it. And now I’ve put you in the same position.”

Mat’s eyes hardened slightly. “Do you think you tricked me? Or that you made me fall for you? Because I can tell you, that’s all on my end.”

Robert scoffed. “Lure you in with a false sense of security.”

Mat kissed Robert’s prickly cheek. “It’s easy to get swallowed up by grief and guilt. The hard part is pulling yourself up out of it. But you don’t have to do it alone.” He took his hand. “We don’t have to do it alone.”

Robert felt something swell up inside him, and it took him a moment to recognize the feeling. He smiled softly. “Y’know, I’d kiss you, but kisses under moonlight are too cliche.”

“Maybe we could take it inside then. How do you feel about kisses under kitchen lamp light?”

“Now we’re talking.”


	10. Dirty Dishes - Mat x Craig

Between four kids combined, it was difficult to get some time alone. And even when they did, it often seemed like they weren’t taking advantage of it.

“We should go out to eat tonight.”

Even when the girls were with their mother, Craig never seemed to stop being busy. He and Mat were working together on trying to unwind more often, but life didn’t stop just because you needed a breather. Really, though… the dishes could wait.

Mat was leaning against the counter, caught halfway between standing upright and sitting on the ledge, while he waited for his partner to finish up the chores and they could spend some time together. “Well? What do you think?”

Craig shrugged and didn’t look up from the soapy water. “I have some stuff in the fridge. It’ll go bad if we don’t eat it soon. But…” He took a long moment to continue, seeming as if it almost pained him to reconsider his plans. “If you want to go out, I think it’ll still be good tomorrow.”

Mat wasn’t particularly attached to getting out of the house. They could just as well spend their time here as anywhere else, as long as they spent it together. “We could stay in. Might be… more convenient, anyway.”

Craig raised a brow at him, a small quirk of a smile coming to his lips. “Convenient? Did you have something in mind?”

Neither man could deny they were in need of some physical intimacy. It had been too long now. Mat wondered for a second when the last time they’d gone further than kissing, and… he was drawing a blank. Again, the little time they did get alone, they tended to use either unwisely or with some much needed sleep. They’d still sleep tonight: very well, in fact.

But the thought made Mat nervous, and he had to approach the issue carefully to feel confident. But once he got going…

“Hey… Hey, stop doing dishes for a second.”

Craig could hear the slight edge of cautious desperation in his voice, and decide to feed into it. “Who’s gonna make me?”

That made Mat take a small step back. “I’m not gonna make you do anything.”

Damn. Well, he’d figure it out eventually. “Make me, Mat.”

The permission was enough. With some lingering hesitation, he grabbed Craig by the arm and physically turned him so they were facing each other. The water was left running. Craig was biting back a smile. Mat smiled back, new self-assurance fueled by his partner’s satisfaction. “The dishes can wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...? (Lemme know if you want a follow-up!)


	11. Can I Stay? - Mat x Craig

All relationships had their rocky moments. They often hurt, but could be healed. The thing about their particular issue was that, for Mat at least, it wasn’t a deep, acute pain that would wear off when action was taken. It was that nuisance sting that you ignore because it doesn’t feel that bad, really, but at the same time it doesn’t go away and is always buzzing in the back of your mind, reminding you that something is wrong, and suddenly something that was so small is all you can think about.

That’s what it was like, dating a workaholic.

Mat couldn’t blame Craig for being busy, exactly. He knew the struggle of raising kids without a partner, and even though sometimes the kids would stay with their mom, there was so much else going on that… it seemed Craig didn’t have time for Mat.

And it made Mat feel a whole lot of things that he didn’t want to be feeling. Hurt, anger, guilt, regret, uncertainty -and they were all exhausting and made him just want to go to bed. The problem was that his bedroom window faced out to Craig’s house, and sometimes he’d spot him in the window. Each of them on an opposite side of different panes of glass, with a patch of grass between them to top it off. Perfectly lyrical. Mat was only holding out for the fact that there wasn’t a fence between them as well. There was some opportunity for openness.

Carmen was at a friend’s house tonight. Mat could afford to get out of the house for a bit.

After all, he’d be just next door.

* * *

The twins would be with their mom for the weekend, out on a fun adventure in New York City. But on this particular romp, there wasn’t much room for a teething baby, so River was home with her dad. And boy did she want everyone to know that her mouth was hurting.

Fortunately, the walls of the house were unusually thick, so Craig was the only one to deal with the crying.

Well, it was more like screaming.

He’d been trying to calm her down for almost an hour now, but at this point he was hoping she’d just tire herself out. Getting a frozen teething ring from the freeser, he almost didn’t hear the doorbell ring. He was fully prepared to apologize for any noise when he saw Mat standing there, looking almost like he didn’t know what he had come over for.

“Oh, hey. What’s up?”

Mat stumbled on a few words, but Craig was endlessly patient. “I… I don’t know what I am to you.”

That probably wasn’t the best way to put it, but it was out there now.

Craig didn’t understand at first, trying to piece what he’d just heard together with a baby screaming in his ear. “I… don’t know what you mean.”

“I--...” Mat huffed and glanced off to the side, suddenly unable to make eye contact. “Can I come in?”

Craig nodded wordlessly and stepped aside to let him in. “What’s wrong?”

Mat felt like he couldn’t sit anywhere, and his hands fidgeted at his sides. “I… Do you consider me, like… I don’t know, your boyfriend? Whatever people are calling it these days?”

That came out of left field for Craig, who was so busy so often that all the time Mat had spent worrying over their relationship had whizzed right by for him in his own time. “Yeah, I do. Why, do you not want that?”

“No, I do! But… we never spend time together. You’re always so… so off somewhere else, doing something else, and I just don’t feel like I fit into your schedule.”

The revelation hit Craig like a wave, guilt slowly washing over him. “I… I didn’t know you felt that way. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to--”

“No, I know you didn’t, but--... Are you sure you have time for a relationship right now…?”

Craig stood silent for a second, the heavy air between them only breaking with the echoes of River’s cries. He was unconsciously bouncing her on his hip, still trying in vain to quiet her down. Without saying anything, he headed off down the hall, and for a moment Mat thought he had really lost him now, and regretted ever bringing it up because even what little time they did spend together was far and away better than none at all, no matter how painful it made the absence.

But Craig put River down in her crib, kissed her head goodnight, and decided she needed to soothe herself now that he had tried everything he could. He went back out into the living room with free and open arms. “I know there’s a crying baby in the background, but… even if I don’t have time, and often I don’t, I’ll make time.”

Mat smiled tightly, barely holding back the immense joy and relief he felt in hearing that. “Can… Can I stay the night?”

“You don’t even have to ask.”


	12. Two Daddies - Mat x Craig

As the rest of the cul-de-sac kids got older, the Coffee Spoon became a definitive hangout spot. Suddenly Mat was overrun by smaller customers than he’d been accustomed to, but it was nice to have the steady stream of familiar faces. Once a week the other dads would pay the tab their kids racked up on hot chocolates and baked goods.  That was, of course, except for Mat’s own daughter, and his partner’s girls. 

Craig still worked mostly from home, going in a couple of hours a week to manage warehouse stuff, but when River started school they’d agreed the bus could drop her off at the Spoon after school. Mat had really hoped Craig would take the opportunity to find more time for himself, rather than take on an even bigger workload, but now that he was starting to coach the high school softball team that was looking pretty unlikely. River, who didn’t seem to be getting into softball or sports at all, at least didn’t have to stick around where she didn’t want to be.

The shop was already teeming with local kids and their friends when the elementary school bus arrived. “Pablo, man the register for a second.”

“You got it!”

Mat headed out to get River off the bus. She came bounding down the steps with a wide smile on her face, waving around a large piece of paper.

“What you got there, sweetheart?” Mat asked, taking her hand and walking in with her.

“I drew us!”

“Oh, you did? Can I see it?”

She nodded enthusiastically. Mat sat her on the counter. Now that the teens had all settled in, things would be a bit quieter for a little while, and he could afford a small break. River showed him what she’d made.

“You did draw us! All of us. Here, show me who’s who.”

River seemed to have a good understanding of organization, naming off everyone going from left to right so it was easy to follow along as her little finger poked and prodded the stick figures on the page. “Well there’s Hazel and Briar and me and Daddy and you and Carmen! And Pepper!” She pointed to the little blob of a kitty on the far right. “And then--” She pointed to a smaller figure off in the corner. “There’s Mommy. She’s small cuz she doesn’t live with us. But sometimes we go stay with her, and then you guys would be small and far away!”

“You do, don’t you?” Mat gave River a juicebox and examined the picture more closely. For a five-year-old it was certainly well done. Maybe she’d grow up to be an artist. In the picture he and Craig were holding hands, and both family groups were surrounded by different colored hearts. The hands were linking the two together. Mat smiled softly, imagining a time when it would all just be one big family. He’d always wanted a big family.

“River? I’m gonna let you in on a secret, but you have to pinky promise not to tell anyone, okay?”

Her face lit up in anticipation of the secret, and she nodded vigorously, ramming her hand out in front of her, her little pinky sticking out. Mat laughed and hooked it with his own. 

“Okay, so here’s the secret.” He was speaking very quietly so none of his patrons might hear. They, for their part, hadn’t sworn secrecy. “I’m gonna ask to marry your daddy.”

She gasped loudly, hands flying to her mouth, which was almost as wide as her eyes. Mat cut in before she could blurt the news to the world.

“But I’m gonna need your help. This is a very nice picture, but I’m gonna ask you to write something on it, okay? Could you do that for me?”

She nodded and immediately was going through her bag for her crayons. “I write really good! I know all my ABCs.”

“Very good, honey. Now, here’s what I need you to write…”

* * *

 

After a long practice, Craig did tend to give in and let the twins get something sugary from the Coffee Spoon. It was supposed to be a special treat, but he found himself giving in more and more often, and he wondered if it was just to se Mat at work after a long day.

“Alright, you each can get one snack. Whatever you want is fine by me. And… if you want to get small hot chocolates too, I don’t have a problem with that.”

“Thanks, Dad!” one of them shouted from the back seat. Neither was allowed to sit up front, since they could never agree on who got the seat, and when they’d tried taking turns there were always arguments about who’d gotten it last. Craig had a feeling Smashley was still allowing it, though, even though the girls had never fessed up to it. Smashley’s car was smaller, though, less room in the back for three growing girls.

Craig pulled up in front to drop the twins off, handing Briar a twenty. As per usuual, he went to park the car at home and walk over rather than pay to park down the street.

Mat got excited when the twins arrived, but didn’t get his hopes too high. He knew Craig wouldn’t be joining them just yet, so he busied himself with taking their orders -a chocolate muffin for Hazel, an apple turnover for Briar, and two small hot chocolates- while he waited. River was still sitting on the counter, bobbing slightly, making a pretty good helper as she greeted all his incoming customers. Things had quieted down now; most of the kids had gone home, save for a handful of stragglers off in the far corner of the shop.

Perfect.

Craig did arrive a few minutes later, looking worn out from a rough day but smiling regardless. Mat returned the smile eagerly. “What’ll it be today?” he asked, putting on a teasing customer service voice.

“Nothing for me tonight, thanks.” Craig scooped River up off the counter and balanced her on his hip. “Hope she wasn’t too much trouble?”

“No, she never is.”

“I never am, Daddy!”

“Right, right, my mistake.” He kissed her cheek hard, making her giggle. “So what’d you do in school today?”

“I drew a picture!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah! I wanna show it to you!”

Mat nodded along with their exchange, mentally preparing himself for what was coming.

River showed her father the picture. Craig smiled brightly at the crayon depiction of their family. Less and less often was “families” seeming like the right word. They were basically one by now. River seemed to have noticed, too, linking the family units with the dads holding hands.

“It looks great, sweetheart. You must’ve worked really hard on it…” He trailed off as he noticed the text at the bottom.

Craig had quickly acclimated to River’s messy handwriting, easily deciphering what she’d written.

‘WHAT’S BETTER THAN ONE DADDY? TWO DADDIES!’

Something welled up inside him at that, and it was all he could do to keep his eyes dry. “It looks wonderful, baby girl…”

He turned back to Mat, but found he was no longer behind the counter.

Mat had gotten down on one knee in front of him.

There was no holding back now.

“Craig…. I, um--” Damn, why was he getting worked up? This was his idea! “I can’t imagine a future without you, and without your- our girls. I think -and I hope you agree- that it’s tiime two became one. I love you so much, so, um-- Will you--”

“Yes!” He didn’t mean to interrupt, honestly, but he was wound so tight with emotion that he couldn’t hold it back. “Yes, yes, I--”

“Great!” Mat stood and hugged him tight. They couldn’t seem to keep their mouths shut, either of them, but maybe a newly-engaged kiss would shut them up.


	13. My Shirt - Robert x Craig

It didn’t happen often, but Robert loved when Craig got to spend the night. It took the right combination of all three kids being off, not having too heavy a workload, and managing to be convinced that he didn’t need to get up at five in the morning to go for a run before the kids got home. That combination was a rare one, with lovely results. It was also one of the few things Robert would tidy up the house for. Craig knew Robert was a bit of a mess, and a mess begot a mess, and though Robert wasn’t ashamed of it at all, they could get to the bedroom much more quickly if there weren’t piles of dirty laundry and week old takeout boxes littering the floor. 

(How Craig found time in his hectic shcedule to keep the house clean, with plenty of young children available to mess it all up, was completely beyond him.)

So they’d spent the night together, and not a minute of it wasted. Robert preferred to get right down to business, but he could stay up for some cuddling afterward. A nice compromise.

Another necessary compromise came in when the first of them was allowed to wake up. Craig wasn’t able to sleep in or even stay in bed: he’d get too antsy and be filled with the need to do something productive. Robert refused to wake up that early, but so they agreed nothing before eight.

Robert rolled over to the beams of sunlight slitting through the blinds. He blinked against the sudden brighten, snarling quietly, before rolling back over. His eyes opened just for a second, and damn was he glad he did.

“Is that my shirt?”

Craig turned around, head tilted in confusion that suggested he didn’t think much of wearing his partner’s shirt from the previous night, and nothing else but a pair of boxers. Robert wished those were his, too. “Oh, yeah, I spilled, um…” He picked up a near empty bottle off the floor. “Whatever was in this. What, do you rip the labels off?”

“I don’t need to be reminded of my terrible life choices.”

Craig smiled somewhat fondly, somewhat sympathetically. “Well, anyway, this got knocked over and spilled onto my shirt. I just put it in a load with some of your other clothes. You’re almost out of laundry detergent.”

Robert laughed, but something struck him, something he briefly couldn’t identify. Then it came to him, slowly. “Hey, um… I don’t need you around to take care of me.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t need someone to take care of me. I’m a wreck, sure, but I’m also a grown-ass adult and should be able to handle my own stuff. Basics of living kind of things. You don’t need to be doing my laundry.”

“I didn’t say--”

“If I need you, I don’t need you for that, at least.”

“... If?”

Fuck. “That’s not what I meant. I, um… I do think I need you. But not because I can’t take care of myself. Because, uh… Because I care about you.”

Craig laughed softly, eyes downcast. “Yeah. I care about you, too. And…” He tugged a little at the well worn collar of Robert’s red sweatshirt. “I’m keeping this.”


	14. Stress Relief - Dadsona x Craig

Exams were killer as a concept, but this one outdid all others by a landslide. Worse yet, this was your last chance to pass the class. Sure, it was something you didn’t exactly need for your major, but it meant taking another math course before graduation, and you’d studied so hard this time…

You barely noticed your bro as you plopped down on the lumpy dorm mattress, but when you did look over, you saw him highlighting an entire page of notes. Craig looked deep in thought for a long moment, before shrugging and dropping the act. “I have no clue what I’m doing,” he admitted, unusually deadpan, but following it up with a laugh. He glanced over at you and frowned. “Hey, didn’t go so well?”

“It was shit. I didn’t know shit.”

“Aw, dude, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He hopped up off his bed to come sink into the beanbag next to yours, and reached up to pat your head. “Worst case scenario, you take it again. Only when you do you’ll know at least a little bit more than you did this time. And if you have to take the class five times to pass, then you’ll still have something to be proud of!”

You whined and buried your face into the pillow. The thought of taking calculus again made you nauseous.

“... Hey, real talk, though. I saw how much work you put into studying. And even if you fail -and maybe this doesn’t mean much from me, all things considered- I’ll still be super proud of you, bro.”

You couldn’t admit it in the moment, but that did help a little bit. Maybe it wouldn’t change your score on the exam, but in anticipation of how hard your folks would come down on you for failing, it was good to know your effort was recognized by someone, and that you had a good friend in your corner.

Craig was silent for a moment, but you could hear the shifting of the beanbag. “What can I, uh, do to help? I’m not doing anything right now. Need me to order a pizza, find a party to take your mind off things?”

You shook your head, the scratchy pillowcase rubbing brutally against your nose. You didn’t want to go out, and you weren’t hungry. “No, just… stay? I think I need a buddy around right now.”

“I’m on it!”

And suddenly you weren’t the only person in your bed.

“Dude, what the hell?”

“Shh… Unless you really want me to get up, I think some good ol’-fashioned snuggling might help. Girls seem to like it.”

“Y’know, you’re really fucking gay for a straight dude.”

“And you’re really straight for a gay dude.” He nestled his face into the back of your neck. “G’night, bro.”

You accepted the comfort the snuggling did bring you. “Night, bro.”

* * *

 

You wake up. A different house, a different bed --but still wrapped up with your best bro.

You’re both older, now. Changed. Four kids between you, engagement rings wonderfully tight on your fingers, boxes still in the corner, ready to be unpacked, everything inside moving house yet again.

Craig stirs a little, still asleep, and presses his face into our shoulder before settling back down.

Pretty fucking gay for a straight dude. Yeah. You fall back asleep, smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!


	15. Custody - Joseph x Dadsona

It was probably a bad idea for you to go, anyway. Joseph would be fine on his own; his lawyer said he had a good chance of winning this case. Joseph was running on this assurance, determined to come home with full custody of the kids. They’d find out today whether this was the case.

Being a bad husband isn’t the same thing as being a bad father, but it might be a little too contentious for the father’s love affair to be in the court for the final custody hearing.

Joseph was checking himself over and over in the mirror, determined to make a good final impression, but he wasn’t much one for detailed thinking. He seemed to keep missing the obvious way his tie leaned just a little to the left. Nerves, probably.

“Here, let me fix that for you.” You stood and straightened it out for him. He didn’t notice anything was off about it until the problem was solved. Looking himself over one more time, he finally seemed satisfied.

‘Thank you.”

“No problem.” You settled back on the bed that you two had come to share.

“Tell me it’ll go well.”

“It’ll be fine.”

Joseph nodded, blowing out a sigh, trying to relieve his frazzled nerves. “I… I was hoping you’d come with me.”

You nodded, but didn’t move to fulfill this wish. “Mary’s gonna be there. I don’t want to set her off.”

Joseph laughed softly. “Might increase my odds.”

You smiled a little but shook your head. “She deserves a fair chance. I’m not trying to ruin anything for her.”

Joseph was silent for a moment, arms slowly falling to his sides. “Do you think I might be doing the wrong thing?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Trying to take full custody of the kids… I do believe children should ideally be with both their mother and father, but there must be a reason the courts tend to favor the mothers in these battles.”

“I think it should be on a case-by-case basis. Are there instances where the mother would be the better caretaker? Absolutely! But… and maybe I’m totally biased here, but I’ve only ever seen you taking care of the kids. Mary tends to be a little too…” I pantomimed sipping deeply from a wine glass. “She’s nice and all, once you get used to her, but she’s been pretty absent with the kids. So would she be better able to take care of them?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, that’s what the judge is gonna decide today.” You stood and gestured him to the door. “C’mon. Don’t wanna be late.”

He nodded and shook himself out a bit. “Okay.” He grabbed his coat and started putting it on, keeping up the conversation because he didn’t like the silence. “What are you doing today?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ve got a full schedule.” You laughed and settled on the sofa. “Thanks for helping me socialize. He butterfly has really come out of its cacoon.”

Joseph smiled and kissed you chastely on the lips. “Alright. I’ll be back afterward. My sister’s bringing the kids back around four, so if I’m not back by then, could you make sure to be home?”

“Yeah, no worries.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later. Love you.”

“Love you too.” He headed out and you turned on the TV as you waited for your plans to start. You tried to assure yourself that things would work themselves out soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!


	16. Hot Water - Dadsona x Craig

Things had gotten busy with Amanda going back off to school, and you’d been forgetting a couple of essential practices lately. Most particularly, your hair more closely resembled limp brown noodles than actual hair. You’d been showering, of course -nothing worse than Dad Stink- but it was so easy to just not put the shower head back up and not have to worry about washing or drying when you had so little time and the icy weather would attack and freeze anything damp.

It was almost too bad Craig had suggested more runs to get your mind off the empty nest, and sweat certainly wasn’t making your hair any cleaner.

“Hey, bro! Ready for the gym?”

You sighed and nodded, following him out the door. Your certified Perfect Human boyfriend was too nice to say anything about what a mess you looked like, but you did catch him staring on at least one occasion. You weren’t sure which would make you more self-conscious.

But Craig seemed to be getting concerned, asking repeatedly whether you were okay, and you waved it off. Maybe he’d understand when his own kids went off to college, but not now.

But Craig got so concerned that he actually stopped the treadmill so they could have a more face-to-face conversation. “Hey, dude, you haven’t been looking too good lately. And I’m worried you’re not taking care of yourself, either.”

You wanted to wave this off too, but the look in Craig’s eyes had you deflating like a balloon. “I… haven’t, I guess. I mean, for the most part I guess I am, but I’m failing to do some of the smaller things.” You get quiet for a second, so the other gymgoers couldn’t hear you in your humiliation. “Like, sure, I’m showering, but I’m not washing my hair. Stuff like that.”

Craig smiled just a little at that and patted you on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry. You don’t need to do everything without help when you’re down. Here, when we get home I’ll wash it for you!”

You were taken aback by the offer, and didn’t know how much you would like someone else washing your hair like that, but his enthusiasm was at least somewhat contagious. “Alright.” You got back to your workout, counting down the hour until you would get out of here.

* * *

“Smashley bought this for Briar when she thought she wanted to be a hairdresser.”

It was a large bowl with a dip in the side and a hole in the bottom, like you’d seen at the place you used to take Amanda to get her hair cut, after Alex decided you weren’t allowed to do her hair anymore. 

Craig put the bowl in the sink. Three kids and zero dirty dishes. Unbelievable. “Here, you put your neck in this part.” He started washing his hands in the other bay, and you did as he suggested. It was a little uncomfortable, but as you started to relax a little bit, it wasn’t so bad.

“The girls use this shampoo to make their hair all shiny. It says it’s for dry hair. Do you have dry hair?”

“Hell if I know.”

Craig laughed and checked the other bottles. “Okay, um-- No, this is baby shampoo.” He put that one back down and picked out another. “This is mine. Briar says my hair isn’t too dry or too oily, but this one says it’s supposed to prevent graying?”

“That one,” you said decisively. Marketing ploy or no, you weren’t taking chances on not preventing grayness.

Craig laughed softly and poured a generous amount into his hand. “Okay. I’ve watched a couple of videos on this before, and I think I remember how to do it right…”

Whether or not it was the technical “right way” to wash hair, you had to admit, it felt wonderful. “Yeah, really dig in there…” You were a little ashamed of how much it sounded like a groan, but Craig didn’t seem to mind at all. The shampoo was starting to foam as he massaged it into your scalp. Almost too soon he was rinsing it out, but he ran his fingers through the wet threads in such a relaxing way you couldn’t mind too much.

“How was that, bro?”

“Absolute heaven. Kiss me.”

He happily obliged. When he pulled back his cheeks were a little pink. “Hey, I was thinking with Amanda back at school, maybe you’ll feel a little less lonely spending more time here.”

You didn’t say anything -just pulled him down for another kiss.

But when he touched your cheek to deepen it, you found he still had soap on his hands.

“Rinse that off and meet me in your room.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!  
> welcome2theneighborhood.tumblr.com


	17. Tickles - Craig x Robert

Craig was running out of ways to get his partner to cheer up. While he was glad Robert had stopped drinking so much, it seemed to be leaving him a sour mood, grumpier than usual. And Craig felt the need to fix that, both so that Robert could feel better, and so the girls didn’t have to have that kind of negative energy around.

Robert’s grouchiness seemed to be rubbing off on River, despite Craig’s best efforts to counter it. Or maybe it was just that she was getting to That Age that children go from sweet and adorable to wreaking havoc on the household. She’d be turning two next month.

Only one thing that seemed to snap her out of her moods, now that she seemed to have grown accustomed to Arnold and he no longer brought with him the calming power he’d once had (time to retire, poor guy). And that thing was tickles. River had been on the floor, throwing a tantrum when it was her sisters’ turn with the TV, and it was when Craig finally got her to smile with tickles to her stomach that he got the idea.

“Hey, Robert?” 

Robert was staying over more often now while his house was being fumigated. They were sharing a bed by now, but Robert liked to have his own space, so Craig had set up something for him in the basement, where he found him now. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to come hang out with you.” Craig stepped into the space and found they weren’t alone. Betsy romped around his legs, nearly tripping him on his way over. “Back from the kennel?”

“She got into it with another dog,” Robert grunted. “Nothing serious, but the owner of the place thought it’d be better if I could get her out of there.”

“I’ll let the girls know…”

“She can stay in here. It’s fine.”

“Uh, Robert? I have a surprise for you.”

He looked up at him from where he sat on the cot, eyes slightly narrowed. “What?”

“Close your eyes.”

Robert sighed but did as he was told.

And then, the tickles.

“What- What the hell, kid?” Robert shouted, barely holding back his laughter as Craig refused to relent. It didn’t take very long for him to give in, and soon they were both laughing and lying on top of each other on the cot.

Until--

The legs of the cot broke and sent both men hurtling to the floor. It wasn’t a high fall, and aside from maybe a bruise or two neither was hurt. In fact, they just kept laughing.

“Thanks, kid…”

Betsy snuffled at their ankles, barked once, and scurried up into the house through the open door.

Distantly, they could hear River shouting, “Puppy!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @welcome2theneighborhood (dream daddy side blog) and @litsy-kalyptica, and feel free to request!


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